


Worries

by DragonLover19



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Mech Preg (Transformers), Mentions of sparklings, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonLover19/pseuds/DragonLover19
Summary: Swindle has some worries and Lockdown tries to comfort his distressed mechfriend.(Edit: Added another chapter as a gift. Happy Holidays toxxicpill!)
Relationships: Lockdown/Swindle
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toxxicpill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toxxicpill/gifts).



The day Swindle found out he was carrying, he was already almost a good orbital cycle in before Lockdown had pointed out Swindle’s strange behavior during one visit. And while Swindle was sure he was fine and thought nothing strange of it, a trip to a med clinic to examine a pinching sensation he had in his tank for a couple of solar cycles had turned everything upside down.

_Carrying._ He found out he was carrying.

To say that he freaked out about the news was very much underestimated. He was still a bot with an image to up hold, so while he looked calm and collected on the outside, he was beyond mortified on the inside, screaming inside his helm as he went to five different med clinics who all told him the same thing. Each test came back positive till Swindle finally had to admit to himself that he was indeed carrying a small developing sparkling inside him.

So he had a pretty good reason to yell at Lockdown over a comm-link and refuse to talk to him for over a deca-cycle before the mercenary caught up with him and demand an explanation. Carrier hormones got the better of Swindle who broke down and told the bounty hunter with coolant pooling down his face about the news. If he had been in a better mode, he would have savored the absolute shock on Lockdown’s face as he looked over the medical notes Swindle had given him as proof of his condition. But he hadn’t, he had been too busy crying thinking that Lockdown would break off their relationship right then and there after finding out about Swindle’s unplanned carrying.

Lockdown however took him by complete surprise by bringing him into a hug and holding him gently as he cried, whispering rare soft words into his audible as he rocked him gently. Embarrassingly enough, Swindle was too emotional to care about his image at that moment and just cried against Lockdown, hugging the bounty hunter tightly as he gently comforted the merchant. By the time Swindle had calmed down, he had fallen into recharge against Lockdown and woke up megacycles later in the Death’s Head snuggling against the hunter.

Since then, Lockdown had kept the merchant on his ship and hardly left his side, making sure Swindle was doing alright and nothing bad would happen to him or their unemerged sparkling. It was a bit touching to Swindle that Lockdown would dedicate most of his time to watching over him, but it didn’t help that he grew worried about his unplanned sparkling.

Well, sparkling ** _s_**.

Both he and Lockdown were surprised to find out that Swindle wasn’t carrying one, but _two_ sparklings inside him. Twins. Surprise slag fragging _twins_. Swindle had proceeded to freak out once he was back on the ship and wouldn’t calm down for megacycles until he had run himself ragged and Lockdown had assured him over and over again that everything would be alright.

But even as Lockdown reassured him and kept a closer optic on him, Swindle couldn’t help but worry on the inside as he got closer and closer to his due date. And the closer his due date came, the heavier the twins got with each passing solar cycle.

“Ya know, frownin’ at yer reflection ain’t gonna make it go away.”

“Shut up.” Swindle sighed, looking at his reflection in the mirror, inspecting himself. A couple of orbital cycles ago, no one could tell that Swindle, the one bot black market of the Decepticons, was carrying a pair of sparklings inside him. He still had his slim looks, his polished paint, his captivating optics, and his enticing voice that made other’s put their guard down and trust him easily to buy his wares.

While he still had his polished paint, captivating optics, and enticing voice, Swindle had slowly gained a bit of a middle. From the back, hardly anyone could tell, but when they came around to the side of him, they would find Swindle abdomen a little rounded. All thanks to the twins inside him that continued to grow bigger each solar cycle.

Swindle frowned a bit, holding his arms above his helm and twisting a bit to the side. His ‘bump’ had grown to the size of his servo, completely bending his grille out of shape of its normal flat surface.

“ _Damn_.” Swindle huffed, bring one servo down and placing it over his bump. He could feel the sparklings moving a bit under his touch, flinching a bit when one of them gave him a small kick. His digits rubbed over the area where the kick had been, massaging the armor till everything settled beneath.

“They’re bein’ active again?” Swindle glanced away from the mirror to look at the doorway. Lockdown stood leaning against one of the frames, watching the merchant carefully. The mercenary had kept closer to Swindle as his approaching due date came closer, making sure the smaller bot was in good health and that everything was going fine with the twins in him.

“A little. One of them kicked me.” Lockdown’s optics widen, the corner of his intake twitching just slightly into a smirk.

“Really now?” The hunter pushed off against the doorway, walking over to Swindle and pressing his servo against his bump. Immediately there was a kick. The grin on Lockdown’s face grew as he felt movement under his servo. “Well, well. Seems they’re itchin’ to get out of there.”

“ _I’ll_ say.” Swindle flinched as a hard kick pressed against his insides. “I feel like my inside are getting rearranged in there with all the movement they’re ma _KING_!” Swindle jumped as a particularly strong kick was delivered to his inner circuitry.

“Ha! That was a strong one!” Lockdown grinned, feeling the sparkling move under his touch. Swindle on the other hand was not having a grand time as the sparkling moved and kicked his insides, flinching at each hard kick to his innards. He groaned as a hard kick went to his lower tank, feeling like he had been gut punched by a train.

The smirk on Lockdown’s face went away when Swindle doubled over in pain, the merchant wrapped his arms around his middle. “Swindle? Hey you okay? Why are… oh, wait, _slag_ is it—”

“ _No._ No.” Swindle shook his helm, sighing irritably. “It’s not time yet, their just—” He hissed, rubbing his middle with a scowl. “Really, _really_ active in there.”

“… Oh. Oh thank Primus.” Lockdown chuckled, shaking his helm. “Swear these kids give me a scare every cycle.”

“Oh sure. They give _you_ a scare. Meanwhile I’m over here getting punches and kicks to the circuitry.” Swindle flinched, screwing his optics shut and venting slowly. Opening his optics, Swindle gave Lockdown a pointed look. “The next time we have an unplanned kid, _you_ carry it.”

Lockdown snorted, shaking his helm with an amused smirk. “Na. I’ll think we’ll be good with jus’ the two.” He smirked at the frown Swindle shot him.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Swindle huffed, pushing Lockdown aside to get by. “Honestly though. You can’t even imagine how painful it is carrying these two. It feel like there’s a bar fight going on in there between an angry drunk and an angry drunk bear.”

“An angry _bear?_ ” Lockdown raised an optic ridge as he followed Swindle.

“An angry _drunk_ bear.” Swindle corrected. “And before you ask, the angry drunk stole the bears last drink so that’s wh-h-hey!” Swindle yelped as he was suddenly lifted off the ground and into Lockdown’s arms. “L-Lockdown!” Swindle stammered, looping his arms around Lockdown’s neck, minding the spikes carefully. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“What?” The hunter smirked deviously. “Jus’ makin’ sure ya don’t overwork yerself.”

Swindle felt his cheeks heating up, casting his gaze aside as he leaned into Lockdown’s hold. “I can walk just fine you know. It’s not that far to your room.”

Lockdown snorted with amusement. “I know. Still, I like carryin’ ya ‘round.” His smirked grew in a teasing manner. “It makes ya all flustered when I do.”

Heat burned in Swindle’s face, burying it against Lockdown’s neck to hide his growing embarrassment. The hunter knew him too well. Why wouldn’t he? They had known each other for stellar cycles, with plenty of encounters and businesses done together, Swindle knew things about Lockdown that other’s didn’t and vice versa.

So much time spent together, yet neither one knew when this ‘ _relationship_ ’ thing happened. Swindle had argued that it started a long time ago under a nice peaceful clear star filled sky, Lockdown argued that it just happened when they got drunk and ended up in a berth together one night down along the line somewhere. Whatever the reason, it took a longtime for both of them to admit they had a tiny bit of _feelings_ towards each other, and even longer time to say it to each other.

And that only happened when one customer Swindle was dealing with wouldn’t take no for an answer while Lockdown just happened to be in the room hiding in the shadows. To make a long story short, that bot never bothered Swindle ever again and any pieces that were found were quickly sent to the scrap heap. After that day, Swindle gained Lockdown’s protection while the bounty hunter got a lovable pain to his side. And neither of them regretted it despite claiming to.

They claimed that they were only in this ‘ _relationship_ ’ because it was filled with benefits for each other. It was such benefits of their ‘ _relationship_ ’ that Swindle saw the inside of Lockdown’s personal room more than once. Which he hadn’t been all too surprised to see it as a mess just like the rest of the ship, yet Lockdown kept more personal items here. Items that meant something close to his spark and locked away from the rest of the universe so that no one else could see them. Swindle had seen it all and teased and mocked the hunter for each of his ‘treasures’, yet never once spoke about them to anyone once outside the room. Lockdown had been quick to notice this and soon grew comfortable enough to let Swindle go about his room freely (while still maintaining a close optic on him of course).

Swindle sighed as Lockdown set him down on the soft covers of the berth, more than once glad he had convinced the hunter to get a softer berth that didn’t have loose screws or rust flakes inside it. It had done wonders for Lockdown’s sleeping habits.

A grunt tore through Swindle’s lips, rubbing his servos over his bump. “I swear one of them is doing this on purpose.” He turned his helm to look at Lockdown as the hunter climbed onto the berth next to him. “They seemed to like making me miserable. No doubt they got that from you.”

Lockdown chuckled, grinning the slag eating grin of his. “Maybe. Or they’re jus’ complainin’ ‘bout the shrinkin’ space in there.”

Swindle snorted. “Well I never said it was unlimited when they decided to stay.”

The hunter threw back his helm a let out guffaw, one that was loud and strong enough to shake the various small knick knacks in the room. “ _Never—! Oh dear Primus Swindle!_ ” The mercenary gasped, his shoulders shaking harshly as he laughed.

A smirk played across Swindle’s face as he watched Lockdown, proud of himself to make the bounty hunter laugh so easily. The smirk didn’t last long as a hiss tore through his denta. Lockdown stopped laughing, scooting closer to Swindle.

“Easy, easy.” Lockdown calmly spoke, placing his servo on Swindle’s bump. “Settle down in there you two. Yer hurtin’ yer carrier in there.” He began rubbing slow circles with his thumb, talking gently to the bump as if the sparklings were already out and could hear him. “I know it’s cramped in there, but ya need ta wait jus’ a liiittle bit longer k? We need ta be sure tha’ yer both are ready for the outside world n’ nothin’s goin’ wrong with you two. So ya need ta settle down in there n’ let yer carrier rest a bit.” He lifted his gaze so that his bright red optics were looking at Swindle’s violet ones. “He’s been workin’ hard carryin’ you both n’ keepin’ you safe. Ya owe a lot ta him fer givin’ ya life, n’ yer not makin’ it easy fer him by makin’ a ruckus.”

Heat pool in Swindle’s cheeks as Lockdown continued to whisper gently to his bump, planting soft kisses on the warped armor and rubbing it softly with his servo. It was… rare to see the normally stoic, well known and feared bounty hunter who hunted and killed countless bots for centuries, be soft and gentle towards… well, _anything_. Swindle had been taken more than once by surprise by the change in behavior in the hunter, some completely out of the blue and a few times after a good romp Lockdown had slipped and showed a gentler side to the merchant, though he denied such things when Swindle would bring it up.

But after Swindle’s condition started to show, Lockdown had been showing more and more of his softer hidden side. Swindle had kept count of the nights he woke up from recharge and heard Lockdown whispering softly to their developing sparklings in the darkness. It was both humorous and very touching.

With one last sleepy kick, the sparklings soon settled down, relieving Swindle of the pain they had been giving him. Swindle let out a soft sigh, relaxing his frame as Lockdown planted one last kiss on his bump before scooting up and laying down beside Swindle, pulling the smaller bot into a hug.

“How are you so good at this?” Swindle asked as he snuggled against Lockdown’s broad chest.

The mercenary chuckled, sending vibrations into Swindle’s body. “Easy. I watched you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah _you._ Usin’ yer talnet n’ yer voice ta charm bots ta buy yer weapons n’ stuff. Even usin’ it ta make a brawlin’ bot calm down n’ get angry bots ta settle.” Lockdown smirked at Swindle. “Ya got a real gift usin’ yer words like that fer runnin’ yer business.”

“What can I say?” Swindle shrugged, leaning his helm against the hunter. “When you spend so many stellar cycles selling weapons to Decepticons, you tend to get one or two difficult customers now and then that could turn ugly fast if you don’t know how to handle them. Sometimes the best weapon is your own words.”

Lockdown snorted. “Words? What can words do that a gun can’t?”

“Plenty my good mech! Words are very much like a gun and hurt just as much if not more! They hit you right to the core and in places you never thought imaginable and…”

“… n’… what?”

Swindle’s face dropped. His processor brimming as he thought back to his words, turning them over and over in his helm. Each time he went over those words, his optics widened as fear slowly gripped his spark.

“Swindle?” Lockdown frowned, grabbing Swindle’s shoulder and giving it a little shake. “Swindle wha—”

“And if you… say the wrong thing…” Swindle’s servos slowly cupped his bump, shaking as dread took over him. “… you might end up… _dead_.” The smaller bot sat up quickly, starling Lockdown.

“Swin—”

“ _I can’t be an arms dealer anymore!_ ” The proclamation took Lockdown by surprise, sitting up with confusion.

“Swindle, what are—”

“I can’t! I just! I can’t!” Swindle vented harshly, wrapping one arm around his bump and grabbing his helm with the other. “Oh _slag_ why hadn’t I seen this earlier?! All those bots are! And all those threats!”

“Swindle hey. Calm dow—”

“ _Don’t Tell Me To Calm Down!_ ” Swindle whipped his helm around and glared at the bounty hunter. “I just realized the danger I’m put the twins into!”

Lockdown looked at him in shock. “… what danger?”

“What danger? _What danger?_ Everything about my job!” Swindle threw his arms up, screaming at the ceiling. “Do you not know how dangerous being an arms dealer is?! How many bots I scammed and cheated their profits out from under their radars?! How many times I supplied two different warring factions with bigger and more dangerous weapons just to keep fighting and coming back to get something more dangerous without realizing I’ve been working on both sides?! Or how many bots want me dead just by ticking them off?! I’m wanted in five different parts of the galaxy for crimes that would put bots on death row ten times over! That’s no life I can give to a sparkling! Let alone _two!_ ”

“… Swindle.”

“I can’t! I-I just can’t give them a life without danger! I’m a walking magnet for trouble!”

“Swindle.”

“I can’t go anywhere with being recognized and found out!”

“Swindle.”

“Maybe-Maybe I can hide somewhere? Somewhere in the far reaches? No that’s too far away.”

“ _Swindle._ ”

“How am I going to support the twins? How am I—”

Lockdown rolled his optics, reaching out and covering Swindle’s intake with his servo. Swindle blinked once he realized what Lockdown had done, looking at the hunter questionably for his reason.

“ _Shh, shh_.” Lockdown muttered, pressing their helms together. “Relax Swin. _Relax_.” His other arm looped around the dealer, bring him close against his chest. “There’s no need ta get all worked up.” He kept his optics locked on Swindle, gazing softly into the merchant’s worried optics. “Remember what the doc said. It ain’t healthy fer ya ta get all worked up while carryin’ so jus’ relax n’ vent a little. Nice n’ slow now, there’s no rush. In n’ out, that’s it. In n’ out slowly, calm those nerves.”

Swindle did as Lockdown instructed, venting deeply in and out slowly. His spark beat slowly started to calm down, relaxing against the bounty hunter till most of his panic ebbed away. Lockdown removed his servo from Swindle’s intake, moving it to the back of the merchant’s helm and pulling him in for a quick kiss. Swindle practically melted into the kiss, grabbing Lockdown’s middle with his servos to bring him closer. The kiss only lasted for a couple of nanokliks but it felt like megascycles between them before they parted.

“Better?” Lockdown purred deeply, nuzzling his helm against Swindle’s.

Swindle smiled a bit before it fell away into a small frown, casting his gaze off to the side. “… a little…”

Lockdown frowned a moment before his optics widened a little. “Wait here a moment.” The hunter slid of the berth, quickly leaving the room and leaving Swindle behind.

Seeing that he was alone, Swindle frowned and sighed, laying back down and turning his back to the door. It was a lot to take in the sudden realization of the danger he was putting the twins into. He hadn’t thought much about his work before since he found out he was carrying. He had been too focused on caring for his sparklings that it had never a reason to cross in processor before.

But now that it did, he realized how much trouble he was getting into by bringing the twins into this mess of a universe. A mess that he’d been making for stellar cycles. It had been so long since he thought about it, but Swindle had lost count of the bots he angered that would want him dead the moment they saw him. Mostly big named bots who were none too forgiving when they found out about his little schemes behind their backs that benefited him more than them. He was on the run from countless dangers that would love nothing more than to hurt him in ways he never thought imaginable and now with twins on the, he couldn’t help but think of the absolute horrors that awaited them.

Swindle shivered as terror slowly gripped his spark again… but stop when something was draped over his body.

Blinking, Swindle looked to see what was covering him, and found a familiar tan and burgundy poncho draped on his body.

“This might be a little help.” Swindle glanced up for the poncho to Lockdown. “Ya always seemed ta relax a bit more havin’ it in yer grip.”

Swindle stared at him a moment, processing what he said before looking away with a small huff. “Really? A dirty poncho is all you could come up with?” Swindle scowled a little, pulling the poncho closer a bit. It was dirty, grimy, covered in oil stains and probably never cleaned before… and it smelled a bit like Lockdown.

“Heh. Knew you’d like it.” Lockdown smirked, climbing back on the berth.

“I never said I liked it you—” Swindle began, but was cut off as Lockdown pulled him closer, setting him between his stabilizers and hugging him from behind. Heat retuned to Swindle’s face, trapped in the mercenary’s hold and seemingly not wanting to let go of him. With a small huff, Swindle accepted his fate, huddling in Lockdown’s hold and tugging the poncho around him closer.

The warmth from Lockdown’s engine seeped into Swindle’s back, slowly warming the smaller bot as he offlined his optics and slowly succumbed into the hunter’s grip around him. Vaguely he could feel Lockdown shifting one arm, the one that still had a servo attached to it, and moving it towards his bump. A soft sigh escape Swindle’s intake as Lockdown’s servo pressed soft circles over the covered bump. With a free servo, Swindle moved it out from under the poncho and interlocked it with Lockdown’s, squeezing the appendage in silent gratitude.

“Better?” Lockdown quietly asked. Swindle nodded, sighing contently. “Good.”

They stayed there, taking in each other’s comfort. Swindle could barely hear the soft thrum of Lockdown’s spark behind his plating, beating softly with each pulse that almost seemed to match his own spark beat.

“I get what ya mean.” Lockdown spoke, breaking the silence. “It’s a little scary. _Terrifyin’_ really.” He shrugged, shifting Swindle slightly. “Our line of work ain’t… _normal_ in standers. N’ it’s morally questionable ta some bots out there.”

Swindle opened one optic slightly, gazing up at Lockdown. “But it’s what we’ve been doin’ fer slaggin’ centuries. It’s what we’re good at. Huntin’ n’ connin’ others without remorse. ‘Cause we’re only doin’ it cause we need ta. It’s our main way ta survive. Me getting’ mods n’ supplies, you fer profit. Both useful ta keep us online n’ runnin’ fer so long.”

The hunter glanced down, looking into Swindle’s open optic. “Sure we made a lot of bots angry at us, but does it really matter? Jus’ look at me. I’m the well-known infamous bounty hunter who does deals from both sids’, not carin’ who I’m huntin’ or brinin’ in as long as I get my promised mods n’ get a thrill out of the hunt.” He smirked a little. “Bots know I’m no good, but do they ever want ta hunt me down? Nah. They know better. I’m the hunter who’s practically untouchable. N’ I have a ship full of trophies ta prove it.”

Swindle shivered a bit. While he did know about Lockdown’s little _collections_ , it didn’t really mean he’d ever get used to them. Often or not, he had been careful not to get on the hunter’s bad side when they first started doing business together when he saw Lockdown’s trophies, not wanting to end up being the next one on the shelf.

“Now.” Lockdown continued, rubbing the top of Swindle’s helm with his chin. “You on the other servo. While ya maybe jus’ as infamous as me.” Swindle snorted a bit in amusement. “Some bots could actually call ya a bit of an upstandin’ citizen.” Swindle rolled his optic. “Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it. How many times did bots see ya, yet never really called fer the Elite Guards ta get ya? How many times were ya stabbed in the back with long time customers? How well are ya hunted down, tracked day n’ night jus’ ta get some revenge fer sellin’ a bad deal?”

Swindle was silent as he thought a moment.

“I’ll tell ya.” Lockdown leaned his helm next to Swindle receptor. “ _Next ta none._ ”

Both of Swindle’s optics opened, blinking a bit.

“Do ya know why bots never stab ya in the back? Or rat ya out? Or hunt ya down? It’s cause _you_.” Lockdown hugged him a bit tighter. “Are a bot of many talents. Ya know how ta sway others yer way, keepin’ ‘em in yer grasp n’ under yer thumb ‘cause you have stellar cycles of sellin’ yer weapons n’ supplies that earned ya respect in higher places.” Lockdown smirked, squeezing Swindle’s servo.

“Ya may be far from an honest bot, but when ya deliver the best, ya keep deliverin’ the best. Other connin’ bots got nothin’ on ya when it comes ta yer talents, ‘cause you know how ta weasel yerself ta the top n’ stay there. Any trap or problem ya encounter, ya slid on out of there like slick oil n’ come out on top in the end. Ya know how ta read others n’ the situation ‘round ya ta know what is n’ what isn’t in yer favor, knowin’ when ta hightail out of there when thin’s start ta look bad.”

Swindle stared at Lockdown, his intake slowly falling open with each word the hunter spoke about him with high praise. His spark thrummed harder and harder the more Lockdown spoke and soon he strongly will his body not to fling himself at the hunter and kiss him deeply, knowing that this is the closest he’ll ever get to having loving compliments from Lockdown.

The hunter smiled, using the back of his hook to shut Swindle’s intake. “Ya got the knowledge n’ skill that kept ya out of danger fer a long time Swin. N’ don’t ferget.” He pressed their helms together. “We’re in this.” His servo squeezed Swindle’s tightly, pressing their joined appendages against the bump that held small lives inside. “Together. I ain’t gonna let anythin’ happen ta ya or the twins as long as I’m still online.”

Swindle felt like he was in the Well of AllSparks, grinning goofily like a young bot in love. And he was. With a strong, dangerous mech who wanted him and only him and no one else. “… w-well… y-you…” His faceplate was beyond warm, burning hot as his spark pounded in his spark chamber. “… o-okay.”

Nodding his helm, Lockdown leaned back, pulling Swindle along with him. “Good. N’ don’t ya forget it, ‘cause I ain’t ever repeatin’ it.”

Swindle rolled his optics before closing them, snuggling close to Lockdown. “Oh you’re such a charmer.”

“Course I am.” Lockdown huffed as he settled himself in a comfortable position for him and Swindle. “I charmed you didn’t I?”

Swindle chuckled, settling against Lockdown and sighing happily. “… yeah… you defiantly did.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lockdown woke up cold.

That wasn’t something new to his everyday solar cycle of existence. It was the fact he woke up _alone_ that really set the alarms off in his helm.

The hunter shot up on the berth, looking around the room for the familiar gold and purple mech. His optics scanned the room at least five times before his processor finally admitted that Swindle wasn’t in the room with him. Cursing, Lockdown shoved the thick covers off him and swung his peds over the berth, hopping off it in a hurried rush out the room.

He half expected to find the merchant to be in the main area of his ship or at the refueling station where he normally was when he woke up first, but upon entering the area he found it empty. A quick check to the refueling station and the supply room had the same results. Lockdown checked around the whole ship twice before concluding that Swindle was indeed not on the ship. He wasn’t even in the lower section of the ship, something Lockdown had taken care of early on after a certain incident.

Normally, Lockdown was not a bot who showed or acted on his feelings so easily. However the mech was filled to the brim with worry as he couldn’t find any sign of Swindle anywhere on the ship. Not even at the little section of the ship he claimed as his own for orbital cycles now.

Rushing over to the cameras, Lockdown looked through the security footage for any clue of the mech’s whereabouts. To some of his relief, Swindle’s image came on the screen. He watched the bot enter the main area, walk around a bit, look at his collection, walk around more, head over to his spot and work on a gun, walk around some more and—

Lockdown’s optics widened a bit as Swindle stopped suddenly, standing in place for a long moment before turning and heading out the room. A little while later, the bot reemerged again and headed for the docking area of the ship. The hunter was surprised he hadn’t heard the ship’s hanger open, considering how big and loud his ship was at times, and watched from the outside footage as Swindle stepped outside to the ice covered ground wearing his poncho as cover.

The ship was docked on a small planet that was locked in an eternal winter. He didn’t know why and he didn’t really care. Lockdown was only called to a bounty on this planet. Long story short, Lockdown found the target, turned the target in to his employer, and got paid a hefty sum for his work. Just the usual business.

Though it was his last business he would take on for a while. There was something more important that would require his attention for a while before he could go back to bounty hunting.

“Jus’ where do ya think yer goin’ Swindle?” Lockdown muttered as Swindle walked off. There was clearly something on the merchant’s mind. If the deep frown and the servos over his middle had any indication to it, then he was sure something was up.

Narrowing his optics, Lockdown hurried over to the hanger. From the time listed on the footage, Swindle had left the ship only under a megacycle ago, and that was too long for the merchant to be away from the ship in Lockdown’s option.

Especially in his condition.

The door to the hanger barely touched the ground as Lockdown ran down the door and leapt off it, landing in the snow on both stabilizers and quickly took off in the direction Swindle headed off in the footage. Lockdown wanted to be quick to find Swindle and back on the ship before another storm hit. It was the main reason why they hadn’t left the planet yet despite finishing his bounty. A bad storm had forced the pair to stay on the planet till it was safe enough to leave, though they had under estimated how bad the weather could get on this planet and were stuck here for a few solar cycles.

Swindle had not been too happy about it as the merchant despised the cold immensely. Learning that they were going to a plant filled with snow, he loudly protested at the idea, and when learning they were stuck didn’t not help improve his mood one bit. The bot refused to leave Lockdown’s personal berthroom and even gathered every tarp, blanket, and heated cloth he could get his servos on and made a thick nest with them on the berth with only his bright optics peeking out from within. Lockdown had a hard time convincing Swindle to move some of those covers off the berth so he could recharge.

Which brought up the question of why Swindle would just leave the ship in the first place.

The bot wouldn’t even be take five steps towards the hanger door before turning around and heading straight for his blanket mound. The mere mention of going to frozen ice planets set the bot off in a frenzy. Swindle would rather get stuck on the planet where the sun was blazing hot and shade was scarce than going anywhere near a plant that was even ninety seven degrees. He should know, he tried plenty of times in the past.

And this all just screamed wrong to Lockdown.

… Then again, Swindle had always managed to take if him off guard plenty of times before.

* * *

He was in a bad mood.

Plenty of bots could see that as he passed by. Plenty of them eyed him as he passed by, but he hardly gave them any thought. He was on a mission, and he was told the bot he was looking for was on this planet doing business.

Lockdown wasn’t the type of bot who liked to rely on others for help. He was a lone bot. Always has been, always will be. But sometimes, on a very rare occasion, he would tolerate getting some assistance from others who could spread word that would be bad for his business. And that was very much rare, as he took great lengths not to need help.

Luckily, his reputation and more gruesome rumors kept everyone in line when doing business with him. And that reputation was very helpful at times. A sharp glare and a menacing demeanor could make plenty of bots leak themselves and spill all the info he needed to know for something he needed.

Apparently there was one only bot who could help him.

A Decepticon by the name of Swindle. He had never meet the bot, but he had heard of the name before, but he hardly paid it any mind till now. The bot was an arms dealer, but he also specialized in delivering the best of the best to anyone.

If they could pay his price that is.

The bot apparently had a big greed streak for credits and scruples. Big enough to get him in plenty of trouble with clients and big leagues all the same. Yet the bot always seemed to be hungry for more as he just kept bouncing back and acting like nothing happened.

Lockdown didn’t know if the mech was dumb or if he was just that stubborn. Maybe a little of both. Who knew? Lockdown only cared about getting what he needed then getting off this planet to get back to work. Just a simple grab and go. That was the plan. Except for the part where the bot he was looking for already booked it, leaving him high and dry without anything but a foul mood.

Lockdown grumbled as he made his way back to his ship, the Death’s Head. It was once a IG-2000 class vessel, but thanks to some modifications and his own personal touch, it was now a beauty to behold. If there was anything Lockdown was deeply attached to, it was his ship. He put a lot of time and effort into it and he was going to make sure this girl stayed in top shape for many stellar cycles.

Gazing up at his ship, Lockdown let himself marvel at his ship for a bit… till his optics landed on a mech standing not too far away.

_Ogling his ship._

With a low growl, Lockdown quietly stalked towards the unsuspecting bot, taking out his guns from the holsters. The mech hardly had time to notice him approaching before he was sticking both guns to the back of the mech’s helm. The bot barely flinched as Lockdown leaned his helm forward, growling lowly.

“N’ jus’ what do ya think yer doin’ eyein’ _my_ ship?” He growled, pressing the guns harder against the mech’s helm.

The mech was silent. Seeing he wasn’t getting an answer soon, Lockdown took a moment to examine him. Wide shoulders, squared helm, thin waistline, huge servos and peds. The word _Flashy_ crossed his processor as the bot’s colors was certainly catching his attention. Gold and purple. Not something that was normal coloring. Or easy to pull off.

Yet, the mech certainly wore these colors well on him.

“An E-6 Ray Gun and a Double Shot D-85 Revolver.” Lockdown blinked as the mech spoke up suddenly. “Both are considered to be old time weapons as they were made before the time of P.C. Magnus’s reign, and highly out of use. Yet, both weapons are incredibly rare to find and deadly in the right condition and care of their owner. And judging by the sound of both guns hitting the back of my helm, you take great pride and care to at least shine and maintain both weapons in top condition.” The mech went quiet a moment before letting out a quiet scoff. “But considering that they’re both empty, I’d say you use them as more of a scare tactic than using them as a real threat to ‘persuade’ your targets to give you the info that you need without wasting any ammo. Which, I might add, is nearly impossible to find these days as both of these so-called weapons need special ammo and bullets to fire that have stopped being in production for over ten billion stellar cycles.”

It took far longer than Lockdown would have liked to admit to notice his intake hanging open. Not because the bot hardly had any fear in his voice, but he also identified and called out his gun bluff easily without even _looking_ at him.

He didn’t whether to be irritated… or slightly amused.

“… been a while since I’ve met a bot who could identify a gun without lookin’ at ‘em.” Lockdown huffed, lowering both of his guns. “Though I don’t think I’ve met a bot who acts calm under pressure.”

“Eh.” The mech shrugged, crossing his arms with an air of calmness around him. “It comes with dealing with less than favorable bots in my line of work.”

Lockdown raised an optic ridge as the mech turned around. His optics widened in surprise as the mech opened his optics, revealing their color underneath those lids. Purple. A bright vibrating purple.

Lockdown was certainly stunned. He had heard rumors of bots having optics of different colors, but he had only mostly seen the blue kind in different shades most of his life and his own optics. But this was certainly his first time seeing another bot with different colored optics.

He had to admit… they kinda looked nice on him. Especially with how large they were. Still, they couldn’t have been natural. They had to be some sort of mod or something.

Letting out a low whistle, Lockdown smirked a bit. “Now isn’t that somethin’? Ya got some fancy mod with yer optics there.”

The mech’s optics widen as his face fell. He stared at Lockdown for what felt like forever to the bigger bot before his optics narrowed and his pupils, which he now just notice were in slits than rounded, became even thinner. He was so focused on the mech’s optics, he didn’t notice one of his servos forming a fist till it clocked him on the left side of his jaw.

Hard enough that it broke one of his denta grill and left a chip in it.

* * *

There were tracks in the snow.

By looking at shape and size of them, they were defiantly Swindle’s tracks. And the distance of each step suggested that he wasn’t in any hurry. Though that still didn’t tell him why the bot left the ship.

And it was not helping his growing worry.

The tracks were still fresh and easy to follow, something Lockdown was rather grateful for as he followed them. If Swindle wanted to get away from him, he would have made it a whole lot harder for Lockdown to find him. The bot knew him well enough to cover his tracks. Most of it was to keep his own skid plate safe than out of spite.

He knew the difference between those two fairly well.

The tracks took a small turn to the right, ducking into a small cave. Lockdown ducked down a bit, peeking inside and found to his annoyance that the cave went in deeper than it appeared. And to add to his annoyance, the tracks ended inside, giving Lockdown no indication of where Swindle could have gone.

Well, no indication that was painfully obvious to see.

Stepping inside and switching on a shoulder light, Lockdown stepped carefully into the cave, having need to duck down so his helm didn’t collide with the low ceiling of the cave. The cave was pretty straight forward, so Lockdown only had to follow the narrow path. His heavy footfalls echoed against the cave walls, breaking the silence.

He wasn’t sure how long the cave continued on till it suddenly opened wide and split off to five different paths. Lockdown’s frowned deepened, looking at each path carefully before his optics spotted something. Leaning down, Lockdown carefully traced his digits over a small patch of gold paint against the rock. A familiar gold colored paint.

Smirking, Lockdown stood to his full height and headed down the cave. Swindle was making this too easy for him.

* * *

“Ya know, when bots realizes they’re bein’ hunted, they usually try ta run n’ hide.”

Swindle hummed, reclined in his seat with a glass between his digits, swirling the contents around with a lazy smile on his faceplate. “In normal cases, yes. But then again.” He shot Lockdown that well known smirk at him. “I’m not really much of a normal bot now, am I?”

Lockdown just frowned as Swindle took a swing of his drink, completely relaxed and not worried in the slightest despite knowing he was here to collect Swindle’s bounty.

It didn’t surprise Lockdown much. Swindle had plenty of bots none too happy with him and with a bounty like his, it was only a matter of time before he was hired to bring the arm’s dealer in. Though he had expected tracking down the merchant to be much harder than _this_.

Somehow, someway, Swindle knew Lockdown was on his trail and, instead of being a smart he always claimed to be and running as far as he possibly could, he openly called the mercenary and gave him a time and place to meet up. This certainly threw Lockdown in a loop. Not only was Swindle, his TARGET, giving him a perfect opportunity to find him, but he also knew that the hunter was hunting him and didn’t seem to be bother by it at all! Not one slagging bit!

Lockdown was sure this was all a trap. It just had to be a trap.

Yet, here the mech was. Completely out in the open with no gun or backup hidden away waiting for Swindle’s mark, smiling at him like he was an old pal come to visit. Lockdown couldn’t say that they were pals though. More like acquaintances who done a few deals in the past enough times to be familiar with each other but not on a level of friendship.

He really wondered how a mech like Swindle managed to survive all these years if he was this dumb.

The merchant waved him over and, begrudgingly, Lockdown complied. Plopping himself down on an empty seat across from Swindle, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting the merchant a nasty glare. Swindle hardly flinched or showed any sign of fear towards the bigger bot, and his smirk only seemed to grow wider at Lockdown compliance. The pair sat in silence a bit, neither speaking or showing any signs of wanting to say anything to the other.

Slowly, Swindle finished off his drink, licking his glossa over the top of his lips and setting the glass down quietly with a hum in his vents. His optics, those damn wide purple optics, gazed at Lockdown through half open lids, placing his elbows on the table while interlocking his digits together and resting his chin on them.

Lockdown had to fight the urge to punch that smug look off of Swindle’s face and just get this whole thing done already. It would be easy and quick, but Swindle obviously had something planned if he was willing to expose himself to the hunter easily. And by the twinkle in his optics, he certainly had something planned in that thick helm of his.

“So.” Swindle spoke up, his smile never wavering as he stared at the hunter. “It seems someone hired you to bring in my bounty.”

Lockdown grunted. He still had no clue how Swindle had found out. But being the little sneak he was, Lockdown wouldn’t put it past him to have some underground contacts that kept him updated on what was going on. Or who would be after him and his bounty.

“A bot of few words.” Swindle’s smirk seemed grow ever wider on his face. “I can respect that. And I can tell you don’t like long conversations. So how about I just cut to the chase, hmm?” Swindle leaned back a bit, moving one servo with that easy smirk on his face.

Lockdown kept his optics trained on the bot. Not trusting with whatever he might say or do. It still felt like a trap to him.

Swindle’s smile never went away as he clapped his servos together, folding his digits down except his pointer and thumbs, pointing right at Lockdown. “You are after my bounty.” He pointed at himself. “I don’t want to be caught.” He shifted his digits, placing his chin on top of them. “I’m sure you can see the little problem with that arrangement. So!” He threw his servos up, putting on the biggest showman smile. “How about this? I pay you twice the amount your employer is paying you to bring me in, and you let me go so we can go our separate ways like nothing happened.”

Lockdown almost scoffed. In fact, he did.

“Ya think you can jus’ call me down here jus’ ta make a half slaggin’ attempt ta throw me off yer tail pipes with cheap words n’ empty promises.” Lockdown sneered. Oh sure, he and Swindle have done business before, and the bot always delivered what he needed, but it wasn’t enough to convince the hunter to just up and let Swindle go.

Besides, his client was paying him big time to bring Swindle in. The merchant sold good weapons, but he doubted Swindle could ever have something better than what the bot was paying him for this job.

“Empty promises? My good bot! Since when have I ever let you down before?” Swindle tilted his helm, putting on a deceitful little grin. “All the products I’ve sold you before were the very best! You’ve even said so yourself a couple of times.”

“Maybe.” Lockdown shrugged, standing up out of his seat. “But then again.” He stood tall, glaring down at the merchant. “Ya are known ta be sort of a _cheat_ with yer prices. Not surprisin’ someone would want an _exchange_ fer somethin’ better.” Lockdown shot his own menacing grin at Swindle, who didn’t even flinch or show any sign of fear towards the hunter. It was rather impressive how Swindle could look so impassive in such intimidating company.

The easy smile only seemed to grow on Swindle’s face as he stared up at Lockdown. “Mmm… I see what you mean.” Lockdown grin faltered as Swindle slowly stood up from his seat, walking around the desk with easy evenly placed steps. “Basically there’s nothing I can offer you that can convince you to let me go so easily is there?” The bot began pacing, slow and easy with confidence radiating off the bot in crashing waves Lockdown was almost drowning in it.

“But. Here’s the thing.” Swindle side glanced him, those big optics of his staring at him with hidden secrets inside them. Secrets Lockdown slowly longed to get a crack at. Just a small peek inside that helm of his and see what he had stowed away in there.

“If I get caught and turned in to the bot who paying you to bring me in…” He stopped a moment, turning his helm just enough to face Lockdown. “Then, wouldn’t that mean no more weapons?”

Lockdown looked at him with a raised optic ridge.

“No more weapon deals.” Swindle continued, seemingly unaware of Lockdown’s curious stare. “No more parts. No more easy access to energon.” The merchant was quiet a moment before looking at Lockdown with a wide smirk that screamed smugness. “ _No more mods_.”

At the mention of mods, Lockdown’s optics widened a bit.

Swindle seemed to notice he had caught Lockdown’s interest when he mentioned mods. “Mmm, I imagine that if I was suddenly behind bars or, in worst case scenario, _offlined_ , I’d say you’d have a pretty hard ti- _HRK!_ ”

Swindle’s words fell on deaf receptors as Lockdown grabbed Swindle by his neck cables and slammed him hard against the wall. Wide purple optics stared at Lockdown with fear as the larger mech glared dangerously at him.

“Now listen here ya little _leach_.” Lockdown hissed as he glared into those big optics that now held fear in them. “I don’t know what game yer playin’ at, but I ain’t interested in whatever yer tryin’ ta offer. Nothin’ you have can be better than what my client is offerin’. I’m bringin’ ya in n’ nothin’ ya can say can—”

“Table!” Swindle blurted out, clawing at Lockdown’s limb with one servo while his other servo pointed at the table. “Under The Table! Look Under It!”

Lockdown raised an optic ridge, casting a glance at the table. It looked normal to him. It was large enough for two bots to sit a comfortable distance away from each other. Yet now that he looked at it, it seemed too out of place compare to the plain interior of the room.

He looked back at Swindle, frowning deeply. “What’s under the desk Swindle?”

“Just! Look!” Swindle gasp, kicking his peds weakly. “It’s! Not A! Trick! I Swear!” Lockdown glared at him a moment more before squeezing the merchant’s neck cables hard enough to dent the plating, then letting him go. Swindle fell to the floor in a hard clatter, gasping and holding his neck as Lockdown turned and headed towards the table.

On the front and top, nothing seemed out of place or noticeable to the hunter. Still, Lockdown kept his guard up as he went around to the back of the desk and peeked under it.

When he saw what was under it, Lockdown blinked a couple of times just to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. Reaching under, Lockdown grunted as he hefted up a large, impressive looking gun. One that Lockdown didn’t recognize which mod or class this one was. The more he examined it, the more Lockdown was sure this was a one of a kind weapon.

“How the slag did ya get yer servos on this?” Lockdown asked without taking his optics off the weapon, running his remaining servo over the gun with growing interest.

“I made it.” The hunter tore his optics off the weapon to look at Swindle questionably as the merchant picked himself off the ground. The bot gave him a pointed glare as he dusted himself off. “I made that gun myself.”

Lockdown stared at the smaller bot in disbelief. “… yer jokin’.”

“Take a good look at it.” Swindle pointed at the gun. “It’s not factory made. If it was, then you couldn’t see the welding works on the metal.”

Looking back at the gun, Lockdown took another closer look at it. Just like Swindle said, there were noticeable welding works on the gun. Not noticeable enough at first glance but still visible if one looked carefully enough. Now that he looked at it carefully, many parts of the weapon looked mismatched, like him.

“Not a pretty little thing, I’ll admit.” Swindle came up beside him, arms crossed against his chest. “Though, I blame the tools and stellar cycles of being out of practice since I’ve made a weapon.”

“You make weapons?” Lockdown interest was piqued now. He only knew the bot to sell weapons, but make them? That was new.

Swindle shrugged. “I dabbled in weapon works in the past before becoming an arm’s dealer. I’ve seen both the insides and outsides of nearly weapon in the galaxy to know how they work to make a few from scratch.”

Lockdown hummed, looking back at the weapon with interest. Is was pretty impressive for a bot to dedicate so much time and effort to make a weapon for scratch. Even he didn’t have the patience to do all that work. And he didn’t have the careful optic for detail or proper servos for that job.

Though… Swindle didn’t look to have steady servos.

“I don’t believe it. How could ya even make a weapon with those big block servos of yers?” Swindle gave him a deadpanned look, raising one servo up. In an instant, his digits opened up to reveal hidden tool stored away inside them. “… oh.”

“Had these installed when bots started noticing my skills with weapon repair during the war. Quite handy in some cases when you need to pick a lock or hacking into a computer system.” Swindle gazed at his digits, his face impassive without his usual smile.

Lockdown stared at the merchant for a good while, just watching him as Swindle gazed at his own digits without so much of a sign of his usual self. It was… kind of unnerving to see Swindle without his usual business smile he always wore on his face.

“… so.” Swindle looked away from his digits as Lockdown spoke up. “If we were ta say that ya could convince me ta let ya go, how good of yer word could ya keep fer new mods?”

Swindle stared at him for a long moment, his face remaining blank.

Then, in a blink, that same old wide greedy smile came back on his face.

* * *

“There ya are.”

Swindle hardly looked at him as Lockdown came over. The merchant was sitting under a bare frozen tree with thick icicles that reach far to the ground and hiding the smaller bot behind sheets of white ice. Lockdown had almost missed him if he hadn’t seen the gold and purple color flashing in between the icicles as he was passing by.

It was a tight squeeze to get in, but Lockdown managed somehow. Lockdown grunted, kicking away a thick bit of ice to clear the way. “How the slag did ya even get in here without gettin’ stuck?”

Swindle was silent for a moment, gazing out between the icicles. He shrugged as Lockdown made it through and sat down beside him. “Talent. I guess.”

Lockdown looked at Swindle questionably. The merchant usually had more energy than this. Then again, Swindle’s energy levels had been dropping over the past couple of orbital cycles. His optics trailed down to Swindle’s middle.

It was covered by Swindle’s servos and his poncho, but that did little to hide the large bump that had been growing over the last couple of orbital cycles. And Lockdown knew it wasn’t just Swindle letting himself go.

There was life in there.

Two little lives actually.

Sparklings.

His and Swindle’s sparklings.

He honestly never thought he would see the day of being a sire, much less a creator. Though given how he and Swindle fooled around a lot in the past, it was only a matter of time that something like this would have happened. They had been careful plenty of times before, but there had been a few slip ups. And the result of one such slip up happened to be growing in Swindle.

If Lockdown would be honest though, he was kind of glad it was Swindle carrying his young. If it happened to be some other bot, Lockdown would have booked it and not look back. He wouldn’t hang around with a bot he wouldn’t tolerate, but Swindle wasn’t just a bot he hooked up just a good time. He knew Swindle and he… liked him? Cared about him? He wasn’t sure. Emotions were kind of hard for him to handle and understand.

Emotions got in the way of his line of work. But he was sure there was some type of emotion inside him to feel something towards Swindle.

Moving his optics up, Lockdown looked closely at Swindle. He looked tired, more than he usually did. Lockdown had just chalked it up to Swindle being exhausted carrying the twins around. Who wouldn’t be tired carrying around growing weights that moved around a lot in their gestation tank? But Swindle looked even more tired than normal.

“… you okay Swindle?”

“mm?”

“Ya look tired. More than ya usually do.” Lockdown wrapped an arm around Swindle’s shoulder, pulling the smaller mech closer to him. Swindle didn’t protest against it, snuggling against Lockdown and burying his face under the hunter’s chin. This was not normal Swindle behavior. “Swindle?”

“Five cycle.” Swindle murmured, pressing even closer to the mercenary. “Just five more cycles.”

“Wouldn’t ya rather be restin’ back on the ship? It’s nice n’ warm back there.”

Swindle shook his helm, pressing himself even closer to Lockdown. “No. Don’t feel comfortable on that ship. Feels too cramped in there and you hardly let me off of it since you found out that you sparked me.”

Lockdown shrugged. “Can ya blame me? Ya get yerself in a good amount of trouble with yer work Swindle. Don’t want ta risk anythin’ with the kids still growin’ in ya.”

Swindle whined, rubbing his rounded middle. “… I guess.”

“… have they been active lately? You’ve kinda been rubbin’ yer middle fer a while now.” A few solar cycles to be exact, but he kept that part to himself.

Swindle shook his helm slightly. “No. They’ve been mostly quiet. No kicks or punches or anything.” Swindle went quiet for a moment. “… and what’s worse is… I feel weird.”

“Weird? Weird how?”

“Like.” Swindle lifted his servos, holding them in the air for a moment before dropping them. “Like… different. Like I don’t feel like myself. At all.”

Lockdown frowned deeply, narrowing his optics in thought. If Swindle was feeling off and he didn’t know why, then that can’t be anything good. “Maybe we should head fer a medical center? If yer feelin’ off, ya should get checked fer anythin’ out of the ordinary.”

“… five more cycles? Please?”

Lockdown went silent for a moment before sighing and hugging the smaller mech close.

* * *

“Will ya jus’ _back off_ already?”

“Will you just _hold still_ already?”

Lockdown huffed as the smaller mech continued to put his servos all over him. Honestly, he didn’t know _why_ he was allowing Swindle to do this. He wasn’t comfortable with letting other bots touch or come near him, yet Swindle didn’t seem to get the memo.

“I told ya I’m _fine._ Now get off me will ya?!”

Swindle stopped a moment, moving in front of Lockdown with a raised optic ridge. “Fine? Fine? How is bleeding your guts out _fine?_ ”

“I ain’t bleedin’ my guts out.” Lockdown huffed, taking a glance at himself. His body had seen better days. Large tears, busted energon lines and wires, and exposed inner working. It had been a while since he had seen his own insides, but he had never seen them this deep before.

“Oh sure. And this is just a simple scratch, mmm?” Swindle gestured to the wound, his servo covered in pink energon. “You’re lucky I happened to have some medical knowledge on hand.”

“Lucky? Or just convenient?”

“Hey, weapon dealing has its dangers here and there. It’s only natural you get a few unhappy customers now and then.” Swindle shot him a smirk. “It’s better to have some knowledge than to let yourself bleed out, hmm?”

Lockdown glared at the merchant, but said nothing. What could he say? Swindle was repairing him for free after stumbling across him after a failed hunt that backfired on him badly. He was lucky the mech hadn’t sold him out when his pursuers tracked him down to his hiding place and managed to throw them off his trail for him. Though, this could only be because Swindle would want him to own the merchant a favor for later. Give something to receive something.

“By the way.” Yep, here it came. “Is there any reason why you were being hunted down by those bots? I know you’ve got your own bounty but they didn’t seem like bounty hunters to me.”

“… they weren’t. They were assassins.”

Swindle paused in his work and gave him an odd look. “Assassins? Didn’t know you were that high up to be targeted like that.”

“Yeah, well. I am.” Lockdown huffed, closing his optics. The small worried look in Swindle’s large optics made him feel sick.

* * *

“Hey.”

“Mm?” Lockdown opened one optic, looking down at Swindle. “What?”

“Remember that time I got us lost in that cave system?” Swindle grinned, his helm laid against Lockdown’s shoulder. “Using that old mapping system I thought could work but only ended getting us even more lost.”

Lockdown scoffed. “We were lost in there fer solar cycles till I finally got us out of there.”

Swindle chuckled, snuggling against Lockdown. “Taught me to try and build something that wasn’t a weapon. Lot of good it did us in the end.”

Lockdown cracked a small grin at that.

* * *

How did he convince me to do this?

Lockdown felt several optics on him as he walked down the road. Some of them stared in awe and wonder while most cowered in fear and hate. He could tell that most of these bots have heard about him and his less than clean job. He didn’t mind what bots thought about him as long as they kept their distance and didn’t bug him for anything except for work.

“Hey Lockdown, I need your opinion on something!”

… he just wish that bugging him and work could be two separate things.

Swindle came up to him, holding two boxes in his servos. Both of which were special dusting highlights for optic lids. “Which do you think is better? The orange highlight? Or the blue?” He held up the boxes to his helm. “Naturally it’s hard to find a good highlight for optics like mine, but I really like the orange! However, the aqua one really seems to help make the colors pop when next to each other.”

“N’ why turn ta me fer help? Ya hardly wear anythin’ ta make yerself even flashier than ya are now.” Lockdown huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “N’ why would ya? Ya look fine jus’ as ya are.”

The merchant gave him an odd look before turning his helm away. “O-Oh. N-No reason. I, uh, just found them nice and thought I could use them someday.”

“Yeah, someday. But ya really don’t wear anythin’ _every_ day.” Lockdown rolled his optics. Swindle’s face fell a bit at the mercenary’s words. “N’ fer the record. I think ya should stick with purple. It’s a nice color that ya pull off well.” Lockdown added as he moved around the stunned mech.

He really didn’t know why Swindle had dragged him here. It was just a simple market place, he didn’t see the reason why Swindle would hire him for protection. Or hire him at all. Lockdown was a hunter NOT a protector. He told the bot plenty of times before, yet somehow Swindle once again managed to sway him into something he rather not do.

Though this was by far the most simple thing he managed to make him do. And far better than getting lost in a cave system for solar cycles.

“Why did ya drag me out here anyhow?” Lockdown asked as Swindle came walk up beside him. “There’s bound ta be other bodyguards ya could have hired ta watch yer back. Not that ya would need it since ya hardly let yer guard down around anythin’ outside of work.”

Swindle smiled up at him, closing one optic. “Weeeeellll, maybe. But then again I hardly recall you leaving your ship for anything other than work and refueling. So this could be seen as a way to stretch your stabilizers out without the stress of work over your helm.” Swindle smiled at him before his optics spotted something that made them grow wide. “Ooohhh! I thought those were all gone! Is today my lucky break or what?!”

Before Lockdown could ask what he was talking about, Swindle grabbed his servo and pulled him along. “Come on big bot! I want to get them before they’re all gone!” Swindle exclaimed happily, not noticing the shock on Lockdown’s face as he was pulled along by the smaller mech.

Swindle wasn’t a strong bot. By far was actually pathetically weak in a fight without a powerful firearm in his servos. But it wasn’t his strength that caught Lockdown off-guard. It was Swindle’s servo in his own that made that caught him completely off-guard.

He knew Swindle was always touch starved. Heck, he needed to remind the mech to keep his servos to himself when they were making deals or give him space when walking next to each other. But he never thought Swindle would boldly grab his servo and drag him along to something.

They both knew they were dishonest, untrustworthy, and hardly someone to call as a friend, yet Swindle always acted friendly around him. In and out of business.

Maybe it was just some trick Swindle was playing just to butter him up so he would convince him to buy more expensive weapons. Not that it would work but…

He had to silently admit. Swindle looked kind of cute acting like this.

* * *

“We never really discussed names.”

“… we haven’t?”

Lockdown shook his helm. “Nope. We haven’t.”

“Oh.” Swindle blinked, looking down at his rounded middle. “I guess we really haven’t. Wonder why?”

Lockdown shrugged. “Guess we were still in shock over bein’ creators.”

“That was orbital cycles ago.”

“N’ yet ya never brought it up.” Lockdown smirked. “So… ya got any ideas?”

Swindle went quiet a moment, rubbing his servo over his middle. After a cycle, he smiled. “How about… Lotus and Emerald for femme names and Silver and Arrow for mechs?”

“Why Silver a’ Arrow?”

“Why not? They sound good.”

“Yeah. But they’re not good ‘nough.”

“… huh?”

“They don’t really strike fear in other’s sparks soundin’ like that.”

“Well, no, but they’re still good names.”

“Fer wimps.”

“ _Excuse me?_ ”

“E-eh I mean. If bots were ta find out that they were our kids, don’t ya think it would be better if they sounded a bit more intimidatin’?”

“Oh so my names are not good enough is that what you’re saying?”

“No! No! I jus’ think that uh, Road Rage and Chopper sound a lil’ bit more fittin’.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“… Swindle? You o—” Lockdown didn’t finish that sentence as he dodged Swindle’s fist aimed for his helm.

“MORE FITTING?! _MORE FITTING?!_ HOW ARE THOSE NAMES ANY BETTER THAN MINE?!”

“W-Well uh—!”

“ONE SOUNDS LIKE A DAREDEVIL AND THE OTHER BELONGS TO A WOODCUTTER! HOW ARE THEY EVEN PROPER NAMES?!”

Lockdown kept dodging Swindle’s wild swings, used to his random tantrums he threw once in a while ever since getting sparked. Not a fun thing, but he could handle it.

* * *

“ _YOU STUPID EXCUSE OF MECH!_ ”

Lockdown ducked as a chair went flying over his helm. He glanced up to watch it keep flying till it hit the wall, leaving a good deep dent in the metal. “Nice aim there Swin.” He hummed, turning to look at the mech. Only to duck down again when a table came at him.

“YOU SCRAP HEAP! YOU WALKING EXCUSE OF A CYBERTRONIAN!”

“Hey!” Lockdown scowled, but he quickly moved out of the way when a workbench was thrown at him. For being such a weak mech, Swindle did have surprising throwing arms.

“YOU COMPLETE MONSTER! YOU OVERSIZED WASTE BIN! YOU COWARD CHEAPSKATE OVERUSED RUST SPOT!”

“I think you take the title of cheapskate here Swindle.”

“ _SHUT UP!_ ” Swindle screamed, grabbing a large laser sword from his subspace and threw it at him.

Lockdown’s optics widened, taking cover behind the workbench Swindle had thrown earlier. He flinched when the sword pierced through to the other side, nearly missing Lockdown’s shoulder. “Ha! Ya missed!” Lockdown slapped his servo over his intake, realizing his mistake too late.

The mercenary flinched as several knives and swords went flying through the air, piercing and embedding in the wall, floor, and bench close around Lockdown who hopped that Swindle’s tantrum would end very soon before he managed to successfully offline the bigger bot.

After a few cycles, the brigade of sharp objects slowly came to an end. Lockdown didn’t want to, but he peeked over the edge to see if things had calmed down. Swindle was bent over, venting heavily with his servos on his knees.

“You… you…” Swindle whizzed, trying to get himself back in control of his speeding spark.

Seeing that Swindle was no longer a threat, Lockdown rolled his optics and stood up. The merchant shot him an angry glare, but Lockdown didn’t mind it. “Are ya done now?”

Swindle let out a loud huffed of air.

“Good. Now, ya must of known by now that it was a trap right? N’ that I saved yer sorry aft?” Lockdown didn’t want to point out how easily Swindle fell for it because his client offered three times the amount of the price they settled on and the place was a prefect set up for an ambush. Honestly, did money really cloud this bots common sense that much? The merchant was lucky he happened to overhear the plan and save his aft before anything bad could happen to him.

Swindle sighed, shaking his helm a bit. “Yeah… I guess. But could it have killed you to at least comm me first? I don’t anyone thinking that I’ve hired to kill all my clients!”

“No promises.” Lockdown smirked as Swindle growled tiredly.

* * *

“Ya done now?” Lockdown asked as Swindle panted, completely worn out from his outburst.

Swindle groaned, laying his helm against Lockdown’s chest.

The hunter smirked lightly, hugging Swindle gently against his chest. “… I like Lotus.” Swindle looked up at him, blinking his tired optics. “The name sounds… unique. But I still like the names I picked out more.”

Swindle stared at him for a long moment before sighing and closing his optics. “We’ll think of something when the twins arrive.”

Lockdown grinned. Swindle let out a small yelp of surprise as Lockdown scooped him up in his arms and stood up from the cold ground. “Lockdown! We talked about this!” Swindle yelled as he threw his arms around the hunter’s neck.

“Well five cycles ended a while ago. It’s best we head back fer the ship n’ get off this planet already.” Lockdown chuckled, kicking a large portion of ice away so he could get out without putting Swindle down. “N’ ya need as much rest as ya can get. They ain’t gonna stay in ya forever ya know.”

Swindle growled softly but said nothing as Lockdown began carrying him back to the Death’s Head.

* * *

“… what?”

The word tumbled out of Lockdown’s intake, staring at Swindle in complete and utter shock. Why wouldn’t he?

Swindle just told him, _yelled_ at him, that he was going to be a sire.

A _sire_.

**Him.**

Of all bots out there in the universe!

He knew something was up when Swindle had screamed death threats at him over the comm-link and refused to answer any of his calls. Swindle had a tendency to overreact at something in private, though Lockdown was an exception to a few things. Though he just figured that Swindle was in trouble or overreacting to something that riled up his emotions too much and couldn’t handle it. He did that sometimes.

But this? This was COMPLETELY NOT something he was expecting! He expected something over chipped paint, or a dent in his helm from their last… _oh dear Primus they forgot to use protection from their last get together._

“W-Wait. Are ya sure? I mean, ya have acted a bit different when I last saw ya. But th-this is very unlikely! It could be somethin’ else or bug in yer systems or—” Lockdown stopped as Swindle opened his subspace and took out a couple of datapads. He looked at the devices held out to him and at Swindle, frowning as he took them and opened one up.

Immediately he recognized it as a medical report, skimming through it till his optics landed on a certain section that made them grow wider. He closed the datapad and looked at another. And then another. And another. Until all six datapads were opened and showed the same results that told Lockdown the same thing Swindle had told him.

“I didn’t bel-lieve it.” Lockdown gazed up numbly at Swindle. “I-I tried at l-least si-six different doctors. But they all said the same th-thing.” Swindle’s venting hitched. “I-I really d-didn’t want to bel-lieve it, but I…” His servos went over his flat middle.

“… I’ve been… f-feeling off for a-a couple of s-s-solar cycles. I thought it was so-something with my t-tank since I felt s-s-some pi-pinching there. I thought, m-maybe it was s-something I ate, o-or someth-thing loose, or-or…” His digits clutched his middle tightly. “… I didn’t expect this to h-happen. Honest.”

“… Swindle.” Lockdown was in complete shock. Not over the news of being a sire, which he was still reeling is processor over. But over the fact that Swindle, the cocky bigger the life personality mech who could and would stand tall with a wide showmech smile on his face in the most dangerous of situations… was crying big fat coolant tears in front of him.

He had seen Swindle cry before, but never like this. Never so exposed and open and vulnerable right in front of him. The merchant always had his true feelings hidden under a mask of lies that were too hard to see through, but seeing Swindle like this. So scared and worried in front of him.

“I… I want to k-keep it.” Swindle blurted out, casting his gaze to the ground. “I want to… i-it’s half of me a-and I… I want to h-have this sp-sparkling. I thought a-about it. Long an-and hard and… and…” More coolant trailed down Swindle’s face, building up a small puddle on his peds.

Lockdown was at a complete loose of what to do. Being a sire was not something he ever thought about being. And when he thought about it, there was no way he could ever be a sire. He wasn’t committed, he didn’t like responsibility, or things that smelled, and most of all he didn’t even LIKE sparklings! It was the main reason he removed his gestation tank in the first place! He hadn’t bothered removing the other part from his body because the doctors had told him that his nanites were very nonviable to make sparklings!

_He needed to pay that doctor a little **visit** after this._

There was no way he was going to take any responsibility for this. He won’t! He was a busy mech with an important job that could not be ignored for some sniveling brat he accidentally sparked in someone!

… But the more he stared at Swindle, the more something tugged at his spark.

Swindle wasn’t just some random bot. He was a mech he had grown close to all these stellar cycles. Gotten to know and share close bounds with him. Slag. He even took Swindle’s _seal_ in a night of passion stellar cycles ago.

And now he was carrying his kid. Something they both understood at a level that could happen if they fooled around too much yet it never said it out loud and never stopped them.

And Swindle was willing to carry and raise the kid despite not planning on it. And now he was crying about it, probably thinking that this thing between them, the relationship they built up for stellar cycles on experience, trust, backstabbing, negotiating, spark-ach and pain, and sharing something no one else could… was over.

Just.

Over.

“…” Lockdown let the datapads fall out of his servo, stepping on them as he made his way towards Swindle. The mech cried harder, curling in on himself as Lockdown stood before him, whispering for him to not harm the un-emerged sparkling…

And wrapped him in a tight hug.

He felt Swindle stiffen in his arms. Going quiet and still. Then, all emotions broke loose as he grabbed Lockdown and cried his spark out. Lucky for them, there was no other bot in sight and they were far enough away from any pedestrian to stumble across them by accident, so no one could see Swindle breaking down in Lockdown’s arms crying his spark out loud enough for Primus to hear it.

Lockdown just held the mech, rubbing his back and rocked him gently as he spoke rare soft words to him. He knew Swindle liked to have some words of comfort spoken to him and someone giving him that comfort he always longed for. Swindle may acted like nothing got to him, but in truth the mech just buried it all down inside of him and locked away where no one could see it. Lockdown seen the after results of those buried feelings surfacing bursting out of Swindle and never liked it.

The mech had gotten better over the stellar cycles, but he always managed to slip up now and then.

Right now though, Lockdown knew Swindle just needed a shoulder to lean and cry on. Everything must be a mess to him and that wasn’t good for him.

Or the kid.

His optics narrowed, looking down at Swindle as the merchant cried against him. Swindle was prone to let his better judgment cloud over when his emotions (but most money) got involve. He made plenty of mistakes in the past that got him into serious trouble before.

Serious… and life threatening.

A certain memory played in his helm, but he shoved it down before it could affect his mood. Right now Swindle needed him, and he wasn’t going to make this about himself.

Nearly half a megacycle passed before Swindle finally cried himself into recharge, still hugging Lockdown tightly. With some careful maneuvering, Lockdown picked up Swindle in his arms and carried him off. He had some thinking to do, but there was one thing for certain.

He wasn’t going to let Swindle go through this alone.

* * *

“I’m just saying that there’s still a good chance that one of them is a femme.”

“Yeah? Well that same chance applies fer a mech.”

Swindle rolled his optics but was smiling contently. Both of his servos were placed over his bump and his body was pressed gently against Lockdown’s chest. “Mm. We still need to find a good place to raise them. Your ship is okay, but not very ideal when the twins get older.”

Lockdown hummed in agreement. “Curios sparks n’ grabby servos ain’t a good mix. Ya got a place in mind?”

“Well, I do have a few places we could hold up in for a while in mind. But I don’t know how well it can be of a temporary home for a pair of sparklings.” Swindle hummed, rubbing the bump filled with life inside.

“We’ll figure somethin’ out Swindle.” Lockdown smirked as the ship came into view, completely extinguishing his worries away. He hugged Swindle just a bit closer.

Everything was going to be okay.

“By the way.” Lockdown stopped in front of the ship, sending out a command for the docking door to open. “Ya never told me why ya left the ship in the first place.”

“I told you. I felt cramped in there.” Swindle huffed, shifting a bit in Lockdown’s arms. “You hardly ever let me off the ship if you weren’t there to keep an optic on me.”

“Yeah, ya told me that.” Lockdown shifted his gaze down to Swindle’s optics. “But I got a feelin’ there was more ta that.”

“Oh! Well you remember when we went to one of my regular checkups to make sure the twins were doing okay and that one nurse bot femme who had past experience told me that if I ever felt uncomfortable contractions start that I should find a quiet place in nature and the pain would disappear?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s a fragging liar. I’ve been having painful contractions for a few cycles this morning now and staring at nature has done nothing but slag for me.”

“Oh. Okay… wait what?”

“… oh, wait. Did I forget to tell you that my contractions and dilation started yesterday?”

“… **WHAT?!** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who decided to add a chapter for the Holidays?!

**Author's Note:**

> A little belated birthday gift for toxxicpill who turned thirty on the thirteenth of September. So to make up for it, I made them a little story with their current OTP transformers pair. I hope you enjoy it toxxicpill! I rushed a little so forgive my mistakes if you see any.


End file.
